NCC Grateful for the Life and Ministry of Billy Graham

At its meeting at Duke Divinity School in Durham, NC, on February 22-23, the Executive Committee of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC) remembered the life, mourned the passing, and celebrated the ministry of the Rev. Billy Graham. Recalling that countless millions had heard the Gospel message through the preaching of this “pastor to presidents” in stadiums around the world, his influence in American religious history was noted with appreciation.

Bishop W. Darin Moore, of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and Chair of the NCC’s Governing Board, said: “We are saddened by the news of Rev. Graham’s passing yesterday. Very few men and women in this world are so widely identified with the message they preach, and for his witness to God’s love and salvation we give thanks.”

Jim Winkler, President and General Secretary of the NCC, added: “Certainly Rev. Graham was renowned as an evangelical preacher, but he was also known to extend his hand in friendship to Christians of all traditions. Indeed, this friendship was rooted in the belief that we all worship the same Christ.”